The inconvenience of carrying loose keys and other irregular shape objects in coat or trouser pockets has long been familiar to nearly everyone. Edges and corners can be sharp enough to wear through cloth, resulting in the loss of the object, and can also cause scratches and cuts on a person's hands. Traditionally, there have been provided a variety of cases and carriers, usually made of leather or plastic with the appearance and feel of leather, with snap or slide fastener closures and interior wire holders or clips to which keys can be attached; such carriers usually provide a degree of visual elegance beyond mere utility, and are priced accordingly.
It has also been proposed to enable a key to be securely carried in a compartment of a wallet. With a loose key this is only marginally better than in a trouser pocket. A variety of holders have been designed, inevitably constrained by the limited space available in a wallet compartment. One automobile manufacturer, who provides a single key having a metal shank portion with two prongs fitted into an elliptical plastic grip to unlock the doors, the trunk, and the ignition, also gives customers a spare key in a thin plastic pouch to fit in a wallet compartment. However, this spare key consists only of the metal shank portion without the plastic grip and hence requires considerable exertion by the user to turn in the lock.
R Mandelbaum U.S. Pat. No. 1,599,480 disclosed a combination flashlight and compartment in which keys are to be stored as an elongated hollow body having semicircular ends, closed at the top by a roof with a threaded sleeve for inserting a flashlight bulb and at the bottom by a door hinged so as to swing downward. A dished out rectangular portion of one side wall serves to hold one or more keys and is accessed from the outside by a door that slides vertically to a closed or open position.
V Powell U.S. Pat. No. 2,571,609 disclosed a container for receiving and retaining a motor vehicle operator's license in assembly with a motor vehicle ignition key, in which the key is attached to the license by a ring passing through the license.
H Thomas U.S. Pat. No. 2,713,368 disclosed a holder for defect cards for railway equipment as a thin elongated container open at one end and closed by a replaceable hinged cover which fits down over the upper edges of the body and is provided with sealling means which prevents moisture from entering, attached to the side of the car body in which defect cards may be inserted and removed as required. The holder is made up two pieces, a body and a cover therefor. The preferred manner of connecting the body and cover is by rabbeting a groove in the top rear edge of the back of the body, with the back of the cover fitting in and filling the rabbet.
J Marks U.S. Pat. No. 4,037,716 disclosed a pocket sized or credit card sized card holder comprised of a thin card having a depressed region therein for receiving and containing the items and a pressure relealable at least partially adhesively coated lid whlichcovers the depressed region and which can be stripped or peeled back to expose the items.
J Watson U.S. Pat. No. 4,286,641 disclosed an enclosure for storing one or more keys in singular compartments, being sized and shaped as a conventional credit card, planar and rectangular, and including a clear plastic face with one or more slits and further including a diagonal heat seal whilch seals two flexible sheets together to form two separate compartments.
D China U.S. Pat. No. 4,300,610 disclosed a card-like holder for keys, coins and the like which is generally rectangular in cross-section, including a tray member and an insert member receivable within the tray member. The tray member includes a rigid frame portion having opposed faces and an aperture for receiving the insert member, and a flexible film disposed over one of the faces of the frame to form a backing. The insert member conforms in configuration to the frame aperture so as to be receivable therein. The insert includes a rigid holder portion having a pair of opposed faces and an aperture for receiving the item to be contained in the holder. The insert also includes a flexible film disposed over one of the faces of the insert holder portion to form a backing for the insert aperture.
R Lederer U.S. Pat. No. 4,331,194 disclosed a portable credit card size holder for keys comprising a laminated assembly having two plies of thermoplastic film sealed together at their marginal edges, a flat card-like insert sandwiched between the plies of film, and the ply of film continuous to the end portions having a pair of slits forming two end pockets accomodating insertion of keys.
T Morita U.S. Pat. No. 4,593,736 disclosed a case having a protective function for a card with magnetically recorded data, which may have a flap closing the top and which includes a strongly magnetic mesh held between the lining and the surface of the case.
E Cartwright U.S. Pat. No. 4,939,917 disclosed a tamperproof key holder comprised of a first plate having a routed region located therein and a second plate superimposed over said first plate, a single pin holding the first and second plate together in a pivotal relationship and a key ring holding the key to the first plate.
J Guridi et al U.S. Pat. No. 4,946,030 disclosed retaining keys separably within corresponding apertures of the card or hingedly attached such that the keys may pivot into and out of the plane of the card.
R Wentz U.S. Pat. No. 5,125,531 disclosed a carrying case for personal articles to be worn around the neck with a lower part and an upper part or cover hinged to the lower part, the upper and lower parts forming a water tight enclosure when a hasp releasably connects the outer end of the upper part to the lower part.
M. Mah U.S. Pat. No. 5,511,390 disclosed a locket holder for keys comprising a casing being a pair of complementary half-sections with each half section having a recessed chamber and a component formed within each recessed chamber in each half-section for retaining the keys. A structure suspends the casing from about the neck of a person.
The complexity of these devices and the consequent requirement for a multiplicity of steps in the manufacture thereof is evident. To the extent that the disclosed receptacles are closely fitted to the keys or other objects to be retained, their usefulness is limited to the particular fitting object and does not extend to others.
There remains a need for a wallet fitting holder of simplified design and versatility in its ability to hold objects of a variety of shapes.